Bed & Breakfast - Woodland

Mike and I took baby on an overnight trip this week to the Woodland Farmhouse Inn Bed and Breakfast. We wanted to see how well Benjamin handled a trip as well as ourselves. It went very well and gives me confidence in taking a longer trip. However, after a few hours in the car seat, Benjamin likes to stretch out and will make a little fuss. I think it is manageable, though.

The Woodland Farmhouse Inn is where Mike and I stayed for our 1 year anniversary and decided it was a perfect get-a-way for our overnight trip. The drive was a little over an hour, which was far enough to feel like you've escaped city life. We really like the peaceful location and enjoy visiting with the Innkeeper, Miss Sheri. Her visitors are also very fun to chat with during breakfast. And breakfast...I really enjoyed. It's nice to have a homemade meal that you don't have to cook.

Father's Day Feast (Recipes)

Since this was the first Father's Day for Mike, I wanted to make a special meal. We had steak, potatoes and corn on the cob...a man's meal. I price matched the steaks for a great deal on the New York strip steaks that I marinated with a recipe I got from a RS meeting (what seems like ages ago in Midland). Then Mike grilled them...they were one of the most amazing steaks I've ever had at home.

Pepper Garlic Beef Marinade

1/4 c butter
1/3 c lemon juice
1 T sugar
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes. Stir in meat and marinade 15 minutes. Grill as desired.

As a note, I did not use the hot pepper sauce since I'm breast feeding Benjamin. However, I did use a bit of cayenne pepper for a bit of spice. It is definitely a marinade I will use again.



For dessert I made a frozen strawberry yogurt pie that is supper easy to make. It is two yogurt containers mixed with half a container of whipped topping. Pour into a graham cracker pie shell and freeze. It's a great refreshing dessert for a hot day. Plus, it is inexpensive for the ingredients.



Here is Benjamin wishing his dad a Happy Father's Day!

Little Women

I am so glad that I finally read Little Women. My sister had this book when we were growing up, but at the time I was so young, and over 500 pages was daunting to me at the time. I've seen two different versions of the movie that I thought were decent, but this is definitely one of those books that is better than the movie. I liked the character development and enjoyed how they grew over the years. I also liked all the moral lessons that Mrs. March taught her daughters. I think it would have done me some good if I would have read it when I was younger.

Baby Blessing

Last Sunday Benjamin had his baby blessing. My mom and dad came from Texas, and all of Mike's family were present. It was a special day and we were happy to be able to share it with our family.

Abuelo's Birthday

April 25, 2012



Baby wanted to wish Abuelo a Happy Birthday. He looks all pooped out from partying too much. heehee!

First Bath

Two weeks after Benjamin was born his cord fell out. I was finally able to give him his first bath. He was so cute! He enjoys bath time and being in the warm water, but as soon as he gets out...he cries and shivers. However, with each bath, he doesn't cry so much when we're done.

Bili-bed

After we brought Benjamin home, we found out that he had jaundice and needed to be in a bili-bed. We had to keep him under the lights for four days. It was rough because I wanted to hold him and he would cry, which was heart-wrenching for me. I feel like he grew so much in those four days, but I was glad when he was better and in my arms.

Baby's Story

April 17, 2012



The day finally arrived and we were anxious to meet Baby. We had to be at the American Fork Hospital at 6:30 am so I could get prepped for surgery. The morning was cold, cloudy and rainy. I didn't get much sleep because my mind was going over everything that would happen in the next hours. I got up at 5:15 am to get ready to go to the hospital.

I ended up having to get a c-section because I was at full term: I hadn't dilated at all, baby was measuring quite big and I had a lot of fluid. We had our Dr check one last time to see if I had dilated any, but no luck for an induction to have baby naturally. I was too eager to wait any longer. I remember getting nervous right before they rolled me into the operating room.

The operation started at 8 am, which is when I received the spinal anesthesia. During the surgery, I felt cold and shaky. Mike sat by my head to give me support. There was a sheet covering the half that was being operated on, so Mike didn't see them actually cutting into me, but he was ready with his camera as soon as baby came out. I felt tons of pressure right before the baby came and felt like I couldn't breathe. Then at 8:30 pm, it felt like all of a sudden, I heard baby crying. It wasn't a wailing cry like I imagined, but a healthy cry and baby made his presence known.



Mike got some beautiful pictures. Here is Benjamin! Weighing at 8 lb 9 oz and 20.5 inches long. While Benjamin was cleaned, I was stitched up. I was told that the doctors and nurses present had never seen anyone with so much amniotic fluid (4 lbs). One nurse said in her 41 years, there was perhaps only one or two times when she'd seen someone with so much fluid.



This is our first picture as a whole family. I wasn't quite finished with being closed up, but I yearned to hold Benjamin in my arms. After everything was finished, I had to go away to recover for an hour before I could hold him. Meanwhile, Mike went with Benjamin to the nursery to have additional vitals checked.



I was so excited to see he had a full head of hair. He has my hands and feet, and Mike's face. I'm sure he will continue to change over the next few months as he grows.



I was finally able to hold Benjamin in my arms, and it was an overwhelming feeling of happiness, responsibility and exhaustion. This isn't a great picture of me, but it is precious to me all the same to have Benjamin safely with us.



Above, Benjamin is peacefully sleeping.



Benjamin with his proud papa.

We had a great experience at the hospital. We stayed for 3 days and then took Benjamin home to begin a new chapter in our lives.

Purging Day

April 14, 2012



A couple times during the year, Cedar Hills will have a dumpster set out at the park near our house. It is nice and convenient for those that want to do some spring cleaning. We purged one of Mike's old mattresses and box spring. Luckily it is not that far away so it did not fall off the car on the way to the dumpster.

Chick Quilt For Baby

One of the few things I accomplished while being pregnant was making a quilt for baby. I found the pattern for the above quilt online here, and then adapted it for a baby boy.

This was my first ever attempt at machine applique and using fusible material with minke fabric. I was amazed that I didn't break my sewing machine.

Below is the detail of the chick and the machine quilting that was done by Kalene. I finished off the quilt by completing the binding.

Second Ultrasound

April 3, 2012


By week 33 I started measuring big, 37 centimeters. My belly should have measured approximately the same centimeter as the number of weeks I was in the pregnancy. At week 35 I was at 40 centimeters. Of course, this can fluctuate depending on the baby's position in my belly. So, my Dr had me do a second ultrasound to measure how big the baby was and how much fluid I had. I measured at 40 weeks and 1 day at week 36 according to the ultrasound...full term and lots of fluid. From that time forward, I had one more ultrasound and took two non-stress tests to make sure baby was okay.

Above is baby smiling...a precious moment for mommy to see. In another ultrasound, I was told that baby would be born with a full head of hair.

Easter

April 8, 2012



I made up a small Easter basket for Mike this year. He seemed to enjoy the treats.



We had a Stuy family dinner and I made some fun bird nest cupcakes. They tasted as good as they looked too! Also, to keep in my tradition, I made a yummy pan de pasqua.

Baby Shower

March 23, 2012



I am so blessed to have amazing friends at work. Thy, Kim, Donna and Kristina got together and put together a baby shower for me. The gift above is cleverly made up of diapers, blankets, a pair of socks, a bottle, onesies and a little bear. So cute!

Christmas 2011

Christmas we low key for us. I was at the end of my morning sickness phase. Above, I'm sporting the new scarf and cap that Mike got me.

It's a Boy!!!

December 6, 2012

I had my ultrasound at 21 weeks and we found out we're having a boy. We went out to eat at Olive Garden afterwards to celebrate the news. Mike surprised me with a cute onesie outfit for baby.

Below is a picture of my baby bump just starting out.